The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) faced pressure to appoint a vice president to support its aging leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Following a meeting with senior officials on April 24, the PLO created the vice president position. Abbas, who also serves as the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), had promised to create this position during an emergency Arab summit in early March. However, it is still unclear who will eventually fill this role.
The goal of creating a vice president position is to prevent a power struggle once Abbas steps down from his position. Experts have warned that if a power struggle were to occur, Israel could take advantage of the situation to annex the occupied West Bank and ethnically cleanse Gaza. Despite these intentions, some, such as former PLO legal adviser Dianna Buttu, believe that creating a vice president position may actually lead to increased conflict rather than preventing it.
Abbas, who took over the PLO and PA after Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004, has ruled without a popular mandate since dissolving the parliament in 2007. Critics have accused Abbas of undermining attempts to hold elections that could revive the now-defunct parliament. In the absence of parliamentary control, Abbas has postponed the succession within the PLO.
The PA was established through the Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990s, but its credibility among Palestinians has waned due to the increasing violence and oppression of Israel’s occupation. The population of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land has also risen significantly since the Oslo Accords were signed. The PA’s authority was further constrained by a violent split with Hamas in Gaza in 2007.
While the PA has become the de facto representative of Palestinians on the international stage, its popularity at home has decreased due to its failure to protect Palestinians from Israeli forces and settlers. Abbas’s potential successor, Hussein al-Sheikh, has faced criticism for his relationship with Israeli authorities and his role in issuing permits that enable limited movement for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Critics have accused al-Sheikh of collaborating with the Israeli occupation.
Overall, the situation within the PA remains complex, with questions about succession and legitimacy looming as Abbas’s rule continues. Dapatkah seorang wakil presiden menghidupkan kembali PA?
Sebagai gantinya membuat jabatan politik baru, Buttu percaya Abbas seharusnya mengadakan pemilihan untuk Fatah, PLO, dan PA.
Terakhir kali pemungutan suara diadakan adalah tepat sebelum konflik antara Hamas dan Fatah pada tahun 2006. Hamas memenangkan mayoritas besar dalam pemilihan legislatif tersebut.
Pilihan untuk menciptakan jabatan wakil presiden baru, dia khawatir, tidak akan menyelesaikan krisis legitimasi atau kekosongan kekuasaan setelah Abbas pergi, mengingat apa yang dia jelaskan sebagai kurangnya keinginan politik Abbas untuk menghidupkan kembali lembaga-lembaga Palestina.
“Dalam gaya tipikal, Abbas hanya melakukan yang terbaik untuk mendapatkan [negara Arab] dari punggungnya,” kata dia kepada Al Jazeera.
Pemilihan, dia akui, bisa terbukti sulit secara teknis karena perang dan genosida Israel yang menghancurkan di Gaza serta kekerasan dan pembatasan gerakan di Tepi Barat.
Namun, katanya, rakyat Palestina masih bisa menemukan cara untuk memilih, mungkin melalui portal online atau proses.
“Di dalam Fatah sendiri, ada banyak penolakan terhadap penunjukan wakil presiden ini. Mereka semua mengatakan seharusnya ada pemilihan saja,” kata Buttu kepada Al Jazeera.
“[Abbas] sedang menempelkan perban pada luka yang begitu terbuka sehingga memerlukan operasi,” katanya.